Fastening-supplying apparatus



" July 22,l930. l T,y LUND 1,771,050

. FASTENING SUPPLYJLNG APPARATUS Filed July 1927 img \ rangement herein illustrated, the buckets or Patented July 2.2, 19.30

UNITED 'l STATES PATENT orrrcrfv THoT/IAS YLUNnyoE BEVERLY, MASSACHUSETTSL ASSTGNOE To UNTTED SHOE ETA.

n GHINEEYQOEPOEATIOM on rATERsoN, NEW JERSEY, A ooRroEATIoN 0E NEW JERSEv Application mea July' as,

`This invention relates vto apparatus for supplying Such tastenings as nailsfrom a mass in successtve groups or loads. Apparatus of this oharacter is employedin connec.- tion with. machines `for attaching heels or other parts of shoes. This supplying appaof all astenings., whether `they .are cut or` headed and whatever theirlength; While by ,no means limited to this `apparatus, in

-vention is f particular utility .in connection with the inail-distributor disclosed in Letters Patent 0f the .United States No.. 1,005,303, Pope, October 10,1911. In this, ja notatable drum elevates nails from a contained mass to downwardly inclined `escillatory 4zracevvays delivering `to a discharge.devoarom ywhich., in turn, the vnails. fall into conduits formed in a holder, which carries tubes leading -to xthe machine supplied, In such an apparatuses that .above indicated, all the raceways which are to share in the delivery of the -fastenings must :receive from the'contaner a constant supply, and it ifs desir-ablegthat from no racevvay `shall ian eX- CeSs-ive number 0f the fastenngs Waste, to be returnedV tot the Container. A feature of this invent-ion eonsists .of meanssalranged to alter the pointsat Whichsthe elevating Vmembers deliver to the racevvays. By a proper selection of the angles of ,the members, a uniform distribution to the racevvays may 'beattained and, if it is found that particular portions are receiving too few or too many astenings, the posi-tionsof the elevating members @may be changed to correct this. In the specie `arelevating members are each adjustable :with res ect-to their angle.

' Y -iiurther feature of the invention involves acontrol of the delivery from a raeevvayto the discharge `device, as byV a Ychange in the rate `of travel .of the lfastenings along'the racetvay. In the present -`embodiment of the invention, this change in the travel is obf EASTENrNe-SUETLYING APPARATUS 1927. serial No. 205,348.

tained by varying the speed o f` the actuating 'i means by which the raceivayis moved. This Vfeature gives ay movement ofthe iastenings over the raceyvay Which vvlll insure their` .con-

stant presentation to the discharge device for fastenings, especially nails, maybe Ilfloreief`- tectively` fed along racevvays of dil'erent -cfrosssectional forirn Gutor blunt pointed nails, for example,V .are best advancedin grooves ot V- shape, While Ufgroovesare4 desirable tor headed .nails or those havingrelaz-` tiveiy sharp points. As another featurezof my invention, I render fastening-,conveying groovesA of diverse forms more readlyavail-n able for use, by placing these upon `the edges of a raceway member yand as sociating4 there,-

with means for holdingthe membervvith 1.a

particular one of Vthe-grooves in conveying position. lngthis Way, a plurality of series of racevvays in vconveying device may be selectively positioned Witha chosenseries Ain conveying relation a-ndreadily changed :to present another series. 'llhereis preferably employed araeetvay-bar havingdconveying grooves converging from their receiving ends to their delivering ends, theoppositegrooves being shovvn as, respectively, of 'Vfshape and U-shape.

v.An additional feature ofthe invention in-l volves a conduit, into which the iastenings pass afterlleavingthe raceway, there being combined With such conduit novel means are ranged to vary a transverse dimensiones inthe .diretion of travel of the astenings along the raceway. This ohange in the dimension ofthe cond-uit o -r conduits, which may .be those by which the astenings aredelivered to the tubes leadinglto the machine atfxvhich they are utilized, vpermits the vpassage ,of ias-A tenings of any length Within the range operated upon Without danger of the shorter fastenings becoming reversed through being projected from the discharge deviceV into a space intended for the longer. fis illustrated, alteration of a conduit is efected by a Wall movable Within it. When a plurality of raceways deliver to corresponding conl duits7 as those in a tube-holder, the wall of each conduit may be furnished by a linger extending from a plate movable upon the holder.

One of the many forms which my invention may assume is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. l is a side elevation of a nail-distributor embodying my improvements, parts being broken away and in section;

Fig. 2 is a broken perspective view of the lower portion of the nail-Way;

Fig. 3 is a similar View of the tube-holder, with the partitions mounted in its conduits; and v Fig. 4 is a fragmentary elevation of the forward inner face of the nail-drum.

The general structure of the illustrated a1 paratus is that of the previously mentioned patent, Which is particularly designed for the delivery of nails in predetermined groups. My invention, however, may be used in connection With other kinds of fastenincs and vvhen but a single one of these is delivered at a time. Upon a frame 10 is supported a drum 12 rotated from a counter-shaft lll. Nails contained in the drum are elevated by a series of buckets 16 surrounding the periphery and are dropped upon an inclined nail-Way 18, in which are parallel raceways or grooves, the lower portions of Which are formed in bars 20. Along these raceWays, the nails are conveyed as a consequence of oscillation imparted to the nail-Way through connections to the shaft 14. The terminal nails on the raceivays are acte-d upon by av perforated discharge-roll 22. This, With the assistance of a stop-bar 24:, arrests the progress of the successive loads of nails and then is oscillated to deliver said loads into conduits 26 formed vertically in a holder 28. Each conduit is continued by a tube 30 leading to the machine to be supplied With nails.

For any particular angle at which the buckets 16 lie with reference to the path through which they revolve, they Will tend to spill the contained nails upon the nail-vvay at the saine point. Consequently, if all are mounted in the same angular relation, as is customary, certain of the conveying raceways Will be situated directly under the maximum flow from the buckets and will receive many more nails than the companion raceivays. To assure a supply to all the raceways, the delivery from similarly positioned buckets must be in such quantity that thenecessary number will fall upon the less favored. Under these circumstances, a great. number will overflow from the grooves better supplied and Waste back to the drum, to be again elevated. I reduce this repeated elevation of the nails by arranging the buckets to spill at dili'erent points by the location of their nailcarrying surfaces at difl'ercnt angles. rthey are preferably made adjustable about axes substantially parallel to that about which the drum rotates by being mounted upon stems a0, Which may turn in openingsabout the edge of the inner head of the drum. 'A lingerpiece 42 upon the exposed portion of each stem permits the operator to turn the bucket, Which may then be locked in place by a nut es threaded upon the stem and bearing against the head of the drum. vWith this organization, the buckets may be so positioned as to obtain the desired uniformity of distribution across the nail-Way. A relation which I have found eliicacious is indicated in Fig. et. Here, the leading bucket A of a set of three retains the nails longest and therefore delivers most to the distant side of the nail- Way. The second bucket BA drops its nails sooner upon the center raceways, While the third bucket C covers best the nearer grooves. lt will be observed that the buckets lie at progressively smaller angles with respect to radii of the drum passing through the artes of their stems. By means of the adjustment of the buckets, their angles may be varied ac cording to the nail-Waysgrooves in use or the character of the fastenings Which are being supplied. 'Y

Afterdelivery to the grooves of the nail- Way 18 by the drum, the nails advance at a rate depending upon the rate of oscillation of the nail-way and therefore the speed of rotation of the counter-shaft 14. Short nails are most certainly conveyed by the grooves if the movement of the nail-Way is relatively slow. More rapid oscillation tends to displace'them, and they may fail to enter the openings in the roll 22. On the other hand, with a rate of movement Suitable for the short nails, the longer nails may not be advanced at a suliicient speed toA reach the roll after the discharge of the preceding load. In this Way, every alternate load may be missed. I have so organized the apparatus that the nail-Way movement may be at the rate best suiting the length of nails operated upon. Situated in the base of the frame 10 is a change-speed mechanism X. This may be of any desired type, being herein indicated as that Well-knov Ai formin which a belt or chain 4G operates over pairs of oppositcly in-` clined conical pulleys a8, t8 upon shafts 50 and 52. Adjusting mechanism, controlled by a hand-Wheel Sel, alloivs the pulleys of one pair to be separated from each other, while those ofthe other pair are brought nearer together. This variation in the effective diameter of the'driving surfaces of the cones permits the power applied to the shaft 5() by a belt56 to be transmitted to thefcountershaft 14 through the belt 46 and a belt 58 at a greater'or less speed, which may be con- .trolled inline gradations. TWith the resulting change in the speed of the shaft lll', the rate of oscillationo the nail-Way isfcorrespondingly` alteredl and, therefore, the rate` of travel of the nailsl along the raceWays.

`The nails used chielyin the attachment shoe-heels or bases are the cut type, `these being angular in cross-section and having .blunt-points 'and little vor no head. Nails which is V-shaped: in cross-section.v VThe ieaded nails advance best, Without tendency to override one another, in grooves which, toA a considerable exteiit,l correspond in cross-' section to the curvaturaofthe heads. Cllie grooves for these nails are customarily of U- .section I provide lfor the. ready availability ot either form of groove in my: improved nail- -distributor byfurnishingfthe bars 20, which constitute the lowerportion of the nail-Way y18, with a V-groove 62in oneedge and a U- 3ov groove 694:' inthe opposite edge. `These grooves converge lfrom the upper receiving end of each bar, Where they are considerably :spaced vertically, tothe lower delivering eX- tremity, at which they are in close proximity. The lowerportions of the bars 2O are shoivii yas mounted and'correctly spaced from one `another vuponV rodh; extending through registering openings in the bars. v 'lhiinbles 68 separate the barsV from lone another upon ftherod, and this assembly is held together bynuts 7 O operating'. upon threaded ends of therods land bearing against thefaces of the outer bars. A support ia-ortho rod upon the nail-Way frame lis furnished by opposite alined screws 72,72`threa1ded`through said frame and entering bores in'v the ends ofthe 'rodl The upper extremity of each bar'has separatedarms 7 fl, 74, each arm entering a ygroove inV a spacing and clamping bar-56. Each'bar 76, Which isl individual. tovone of the setsofV grooves, hasV threaded through its opposite extremities screws 78. fThose screws which are vupmost bear against projections from opposite sides of the nail- -ivayjtraine. Upon advancing these screws, the recessed. ends 82 Vgotthe: bars are forced against a correspondingly formed portion oi" the upper section 84 of the 'nail-way. In this `upper .section farthest removed from the discharge device, the cross-sectional .forni of the racevvays is less important'and mayremain unchanged. i Itis hereinshown asV-shaped. `It Will be seen that, to change from one set of groovesto the other, it is only necessary to loosen the upper screws 'Z2 and 78, reverse ,the loWer-sectiomand again set the'screws 72 to engage the rod and the now active screivs 78 to clampv the bars at 7 4c againstthe upper section, i u A p The passages or conduits 26 in the holder 28 leading the nails falling from the dischargeroll 22 to the tubesSO, must beof ysuch Width at their upper portions th'atthe longest nails Vmay enter 4,Withoutinterference.` Yet, with 'this size, shorternails projected forward by the turning of the roll `may be reversed, s o

Vthat they tall with the Wrong end first; I

have so `arranged `the tube-holder that the transverse dimension of the upper portion of Vthe conduits, taken inthe direction in which thenails are thrown from the roll,may be adjusted to correspond to the llength operated upon. Extending alongthe outer side ofthe upper face oitheholder is a plate 90, from which lingers 92 depend Within the conduits 26. Y The Width of these fingers is such that substantially complete partitions are furl- .nishcd across the top Voi" the conduits. Atfthe outer edge of the plate is a vertical flange 94:,

lreinforced by a thin bar 96.H The plate and its ngers are guided 'for horizontal movement by pins98 projecting from the li-older through openings in the bar .96. This bar is slotted to enter grooves 100 in screwsl02 threaded into tli'eholder.` By turning the screws, the partitions 92 maybe adjusted toward and `trom tliedischarge-roll. When nearer tothe roll, shorter nails, oneof which appears at N in Fig. 3, are properly received Without having an opportunity to become reyersed in falling. i ihn increase ingthe Width oi"- the conduits by carrying the partitions awayv from the discharge-roll adapts said .conduitspfor the reception of longernails.

Having described my invention, what I fclaim as new and desirexto secure by Letters Patent ot the United States is 1 i l. AIn a fastening-supplying apparatus, a seriesof raceways, a. rotatable container for astenings, fastening-elevating members carried by Vthe container and movable across the raceivays for delivery thereto, and means arranged to vary the-pointsat which the ele.- vating members deliverto the raceways.

2. In a fastening-supplying apparatus, a

rotatable drum fordelivering astenings, fastoningelevating members variable in position about axes extending longitudinally .of the drum, and meansior securing'tlie members in diderent positions. c y

3. In a nail-distributor, La series of racevvays, a nail-drum :rotatable in `proximity to the receiving ends 'of the raceivays, nail-ele-V Y vating buckets 'each arranged for angular adjustment upon the drum, and meansffoi se.- curing each bucket in its adjusted position.

4;. Ina nail-distributor, anail-Way:,fa naildrum rotatable in proximity to the receiving l end ofthe nail-way, lnail-elevatingi buckets each having a threaded shank rotatable in a wall of the drum, and a nut upon each shank for engagement with the drum-wall.

5. In a fastening-supplying apparatus, a movable race-way, actuating means therefor, and means arranged to vary the speed of the actuating means. Y

6. In a fastening-supplying apparatus, anV

oscillatory raceway, actuating means therefor, a source of power, and change-speed mechanism interposed between the source of power and actuating means.

7. In a fastening-supplying apparatus, an oscillatory raceway, a discharge device to which the raceway delivers, and means arranged to cont-rol the rate of oscillation of the raceways and thus the delivery therefrom to the discharge device.

8. In a fastening-supplying apparatus, an oscillatory raceway, a discharge device to which the raceway delivers, and means arranged to vary the rate of movement ofthe raceway and thereby the rate of travel of the fastenings upon the raceway toward the discharge device.

9. In a nail-distributor, an oscillatory nailway, an oscillatory discharge device to which the nail-way delivers, a rotatable shaft provided with connections for reciprocating the nail-way, a source of power, and change-speed mechanism connected to the source of power and to the shaft.

10. In a nail-distributor, a frame, a nailway mounted to move upon the frame, an actuating shaft for the nail-way journaled in the frame, and change-speed mechanism sit- `uated in the base of the frame and connectedl` to the shaft.

11. In a fastening-supplying apparatus, a device having a plurality of sets of fasteningconveying grooves, and meansarranged to Y hold a selected set of the grooves in conveying position with an associated set in inactive position.

12. In a fastening-supplying apparatus, a raceway member having in it-s edges fastening-conveying grooves differing in cross-sectional form, and means arranged to hold the member with a particular one of the grooves in conveying position.

13. In a fastening-supplying apparatus, a raceway member having along one edge a groove curved in cross-section and along the opposite edge a groove angular in cross-section, and means arranged to hold the member with either groove in conveying position.

1li. In a fastening-supplying apparatus, a raceway bar having fastening conveying grooves lconverging with respect to each other from their receiving ends to their delivering ends.

15. In a fastening-supplying appartus, a raceway-bar having at its opposite edges a U-shaped groove and a V-shaped groove converging from their receiving ends into close proximity to each other' at their delivering' ends.

16. In a fastening-supplying apparatus, a support, a series of raceway-bars having grooves-in their opposite edges, a member upon which the bars are mounted, and means carried by the support and being movable to engage and release the mounting member.

17. In a fastening-supplying apparatus, a support, a series of raceway-bars having grooves in their opposite edges, a member upon which the bars are mounted, means carried by the support for engaging the mounting member, and means for fixing the bars against movement on the engaging means.

1S. In a fastening-supplying apparatus, a support, a series of raceway-bars having grooves in their opposite edges, a member upon which the bars are mounted, means carried by the support for engaging the mounting member, and means individual to the set of grooves in each of the edges for fixing the bars against movement on the engaging means. Y

19. In a fastening-supplying apparatus, a support, a` series of raceway-bars having grooves in their opposite edges, a rod connecting the bars, screws threaded through the support and upon which the rod is mounted, and screws carried by the bars and engaging the support.

20. In a fastening-supplying apparatus, a support, a series of raceway-bars having grooves in their opposite edges, a rod connecting the bars, means extending from the support and upon which the rod is mounted, and oppositely extending screws carried by the bars for engagement with the support.

2l. In a fastening-supplying apparatus, a raceway, a conduit through which the fastenings pass after leaving the raceway, and means arranged to vary a transverse dimension of the conduit and retain it in its adjusted relation during the delivery of the fastenings from the raceway.

22. In a fastening-supplying apparatus, a raceway, a conduit, means for discharging fastenings from the raceway into the conduit, and means arranged to vary the width of the passage throughthe conduit in the direction in which the fastenings are discharged.

23. In a fastening-supplying apparatus, a conduit through which fastenings are discharged from the apparatus, and a wall along which the fastenings travel during their discharge, said wall being movable in the conduit.

24:. In a nail-distributor, a raceway, a discharge device to which the raceway delivers, a conduit into which the nails fall from the discharge device, and a wall forming a side of the conduit and movable toward and from the discharge device. Y

25. In a nail-distributor, a plurality of raceways, a tube-holder having a passage corresponding to each raceway, and a plate movable upon the holder and provided `With' a finger extending into each passage.

26. In a nail-distributor, a plurality of ra'ceWay-s, a tube-holder having a passage corresponding to each racevvay, a plate movable Y upon theholder and provided with a finger extending into each passage, and a screw threaded into the holder and arranged to y Y 

